We know from several historical documents that Ernst Christian Hesse was a very famous gamba player. His works in this edition form his only known compositional legacy. They certainly fall short of the brilliance and the difficulty of his lost viola da gamba works. Nevertheless, they represent quite attractive music of moderate difficulty. The first duo for viol and basso continuo can also very well be played on two bass viols. The second duo is for flute and viol. Its first part can also be realized on another melody instrument, especially also on a descant viol or a pardessus. Its second part with occasional double stops and relative high passages is written especially for the bass viol. The introduction to our edition was written by Thomas Fritzsch.